ABSTRACT
Abstract Rhus coriaria, popularly known as sumac, has been used as a spice powder in the Middle East for centuries. It contains a broad range of naturally occurring compounds such as flavonoids, proteins, anthocyanins and volatile oils. It showed a putative importance in treatment of different disorders including cancers. In the current study, R. coriaria fruit extract was used for green synthesis of silver nanostructures (Ag-NSs) and their anticancer activity was tested against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). The aqueous fruit extract was prepared. The synthesis of Ag-NSs under different conditions was optimized. The optimal reaction medium comprised 1:2 concentration of fruit extract and 3 mM concentration of silver nitrate solution. The green-synthesized Ag-NSs were confirmed by using UV-Visible spectroscopy at a range 300-700 nm, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and zeta potential measurements. The anti-proliferative activity of Ag-NSs was confirmed with inhibitory activity on MCF-7 cell line growth. The results showed that the IC50 values at 24 and 48h were 14.27 and 13.4 μg/ml, respectively. In conclusion the results of this study provide a simple, rapid, non-toxic and eco-friendly protocol for green-synthesis of Ag-NSs, which could be used as an alternative and interesting approach for safe and simple synthesis of Ag nanoparticles for biomedical uses.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Lipid-lowering effect of Rhus coriaria L. (Rhus) has been investigated in multiple animal studies with promising results. Nonetheless, its clinical efficacy has not been adequately examined.</p><p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The aim of this study was to evaluate the lipid-lowering effects of Rhus among patients with hyperlipidemia.</p><p><b>DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS</b>The study was designed as a two-arm, double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial, using a parallel design. Eighty patients with primary hyperlipidemia were randomly assigned to receive Rhus capsules or placebo for 6 weeks.</p><p><b>MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES</b>The serum lipid levels, apolipoprotein-A1 (Apo-A1) and apolipoprotein-B (Apo-B) were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Mean serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and Apo-A1 levels were significantly increased in the Rhus group, compared with the placebo group, after 6 weeks of intervention (P = 0.001). The analysis of covariance test including age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and smoking as co-variables revealed that the increase in HDL-C and Apo-A1 levels remained significant, and increases in HDL-C were dependent on the increase in Apo-A1 levels. No significant difference was observed between Rhus and placebo groups in terms of mean reductions in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels; however, more significant improvement was observed among obese patients (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The study showed significant increases in HDL-C and Apo-A1 levels in response to Rhus supplementation in patients with hyperlipidemia.</p><p><b>TRIAL REGISTRATION</b>ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02295293.</p>